Dario's Inferno

More interested in creating mood with imagery both creepy and beautiful than in following a logical narrative, Dario Argento’s Italian horror films have become masterpieces of gore. Plot lines tend to revolve around young artists and students who find themselves in situations way over their heads, like attending a cursed ballet school (SUSPIRIA, 1977) or dealing (badly) with a stalker (4 FLIES ON GREY VELVET, 1971) or discovering that evil witches lay behind your sister’s mysterious disappearance (INFERNO, 1980). These stories may seem too outrageous to take seriously, but Argento is a skillful director. “Under his eyes, every action, from shifting car gears to peering at a necklace, is exhilarating.”

Not to miss is SUSPIRIA, which is filmed in CinemaScope and arguably Argento’s greatest film. (At BAM, September 5)